Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0La Pointe’s library runs 1,681 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Madeline Island Public Library serves La Pointe’s 433 residents. Last year it lent 6,158 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,500 visits.
The short version on La Pointe’s library
More library cards than residents
991 cards for 433 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
28 times the programs of a typical library its size
Madeline Island Public Library ran 728 programs last year, about 14 a week. That’s 1,681 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 4,408 attended. Kids & programs ↓
La Pointe uses its library more than almost any town its size
Madeline Island Public Library logs 17 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
La Pointe invests in its library
Madeline Island Public Library spends $501 per resident a year, about nine times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind La Pointe’s civic life grade
La Pointe isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
About 8 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Madeline Island Public Library serves 433 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,158 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
1,589 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Madeline Island Public Library, 1 Library St., La Pointe.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in La Pointe? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Pointe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $217K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $151K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $217K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 991 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. La Pointe’s 7,500 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in La Pointe
Does La Pointe have a public library?
Yes. Madeline Island Public Library, 1 Library St., serves La Pointe’s 433 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madeline Island Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is La Pointe’s library?
It logged 17.3 visits and lent 14.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is La Pointe’s civic life grade?
La Pointe isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in La Pointe.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.